A Note:

6/2/13

I once told myself: IF I am accepted into grad school, this blog would no longer be updated. As it turns out, in April, I received news of my acceptance for the Fall 2013 semester, where I will attain a Master's degree of Science in Nutrition.

Running a blog, as many of you may already know, is a demanding side job once the excitement wears off. And once I fell out of the blogging community's loop (have you SEEN how many blogs there are now? Wow!), it was like the kiss of death. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't get into a blogging routine once this happened due to the disconnect I felt from the community.

So I took a break. I struggled with the loss and with missing my blog. And then I realized I didn't have to run Book Faery to still be a book reviewer; I could read my books and post reviews online. I'm still a book review blogger, just not in the traditional sense.

I'll still be online. You can chat with me on Twitter, where I'll be posting links to my reviews and talking books. I'll also be posting links to nutrition articles. And if you'd like to connect with me where I guarantee I will post reviews, just add me as a friend on Goodreads.

So that's all, folks! It's been a fun and amazing journey, and I thank you all for listening to my thoughts about books. I hope we all can keep in touch elsewhere :)

Tori

Saturday, July 30, 2011

If you were a blog follower this time last year, then you will be familiar with the formatting of this event. For the rest of you newbies (and I say that with molto love <3), then WELCOME!! Please familiarize yourself with this post; it may end up being your best friend during the event :)

This is the BOTS in a nutshell: all throughout the month of August--and perhaps a few days into September--there will be daily guest posts and giveaways sponsored by some kick ass authors. This year's BOTS theme is based on those sexy sidekicks we all know and love. Each guest author will be describing either a secondary character from his/her novel, or he/she will discuss a character from another book/series/tv show.

Each giveaway will be included at the end of the guest post. To be entered, please read the giveaway guidelines carefully in order to ensure that you qualify for that day's prize, and then leave a comment with your information. Some prizes are international, some are for US only, and some are for US &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp; Canada only.

If there's a particular prize you're dying for, I've also provided the usual extra entries opportunities. It's up to you, and being a blog follower IS NOT REQUIRED. However, you WILL need to check back here during September to see if you are a giveaway winner. I will not be contacting winners.

This post is the "mother post," if you will. I will be linking to each individual guest post and/or giveaway here. I'll try to make the effort to update this daily, but at the very least, it will be updated every weekend.

Here is the posting and giveaway schedule! (Which is, of course, subject to change without notice)

Vi knows the Rule: Girls don't walk with boys, and they never even think
about kissing them. But no one makes Vi want to break the Rules more
than Zenn...and since the Thinkers have chosen him as Vi's future match,
how much trouble can one kiss cause? The Thinkers may have brainwashed
the rest of the population, but Vi is determined to think for herself.
But the Thinkers are unusually persuasive, and they're set on
convincing Vi to become one of them...starting by brainwashing Zenn. Vi
can't leave Zenn in the Thinkers' hands, but she's wary of joining the
rebellion, especially since that means teaming up with Jag. Jag is
egotistical, charismatic, and dangerous--everything Zenn's not. Vi can't
quite trust Jag and can't quite resist him, but she also can't give up
on Zenn.
This is a game of control or be controlled. And Vi has no choice but to play.

My Rating: DNF

My Opinion:
I am a bad, bad girl... I requested this title solely because it looked pretty on Amazon Vine.

Hypocrite much? And here I was, "lecturing" readers not to judge a book by its cover on Stella's blog a few weeks ago. Oh I am ridiculous sometimes.

Despite how many attempts I made to sit down and read POSSESSION (at least five different times and couldn't make it past page 20), I simply could not get into this story.

Perhaps it's burnout again. It's possible that I'm getting sick of the same typical dystopian societies in YA now. The girls are either baby makers, zombies are eating brains, or love is forbidden and girls are paired up with boys they're initially madly in love with... until they meet "the bad boy." Then all bets are off.

I thought I had quite some time before I began complaining about dystopians, but apparently, POSSESSION was the final push to make me wary of yet another YA genre.

Honestly, I think the more likely culprit was the fact that the heroine's voice left me uninterested. I had no idea what the hell was going on in the world, and frankly, I could not get myself to care--even within the first ten pages.

I'm not one to give up on a book without at least getting through 50 pages, but I couldn't make myself continue. If I'm flipping back and counting down until I'm done with a book, I already know the author's lost me; it's like reading high school US history books all over again.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

I don't usually post about Kindle bargains since there are far better blogs out there following all the prices and stuff. BUT, I am making an exception since two series--one I've read, and the other I've heard nothing but good about--have a bundle deal.

I haven't reviewed the first four books because I read them before I started blogging. However, I have reviewed the fifth one--which totally blew my mind even during a book burnout. You can read my review here. If you haven't started this series, I HIGHLY recommend you start!

The next series is The Parasol Protectorate by Gail Carriger. Mind you, I have not read this series yet (though I do have book 1 floating somewhere in the TBR), so I cannot say whether or not this is worth the purchase. Despite that, if you've been dying to see what the fuss is about this series, now is your chance.

Monday, July 25, 2011

As always, a huge thank you goes out to Scholastic and Big Honcho Media for making this giveaway possible!

Want to win a copy of FOREVER plus a key chain? Two winners will!

In Maggie Stiefvater’s SHIVER, Grace and Sam found each other. In LINGER, they fought to be together. Now, in FOREVER, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. And love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in.

Scholastic recently launched an online community called This Is Teen to connect readers with their favorite YA authors and books. Visit their page on Facebook for all the latest news on Maggie Stiefvater and Forever: www.facebook.com/thisisteen.